As noted by Bustle, Bieber actually broached the idea of getting married to Baldwin in a 2016 interview with GQ, around the time when he and the 21-year-old model were first reported to be dating. (In the interview, he first responded positively when asked if she was "just a friend he kisses," but later described her as, "someone [he] really love."

“I don’t want to put anyone in a position where they feel like I’m only theirs, only to be hurt in the end," he said, explaining that he wasn't yet ready to walk down the aisle. "Right now in my life, I don’t want to be held down by anything. I already have a lot that I have to commit to. A lot of responsibilities. I don’t want to feel like the girl I love is an added responsibility. I know that in the past I’ve hurt people and said things that I didn’t mean to make them happy in the moment. So now I’m just more so looking at the future, making sure I’m not damaging them."

"What if Hailey ends up being the girl I’m gonna marry, right? If I rush into anything, if I damage her, then it’s always gonna be damaged. It’s really hard to fix wounds like that. It’s so hard.… I just don’t want to hurt her.”

Clearly, the idea's been on Bieber's mind for a while, he just needed to find the right time.